the very existence of god, for if there be a god he must surely rather honest questioning over blindfolded fear. he wants you find him if he exists. hello, welcome, i'm gregg jarrett. >> julie: i'm jewel jew. topping the news it could be the 300 ton smoking gun in the bp oil spill but this afternoon with the f.b.i. standing by, crews have hit a snag bringing up the blowout preventer. >> and surprise move by craigslist a popular section has been blocked skl and major shift for the political landscape may be brewing. brand-new predictions showing a backlash against the democrats heading into the fall elections. molly henneberg is live in

washington to explain. there is new poll suggesting that african-americans aren't very enthusiastic about the midterm elections coming up. why? >> at least they are not as fired up as they were for the 2009 presidential election. gallup asked black and white voters if they were thinking quite a lot or some about the elections. over 80% of both groups giving a good bit of thought. but going in the mid interpretations, only 25% of blacks compared to 42% of whites are thinking quite a lot about the mid terms. one democratic strategist says it may have to do with president obama's first two years in office. >> he has not achieved the success that anybody wanted him to achieve, there is a sense of disillusion. with his core supporters. their level of enthusiasm for

voting this time is less as a result. >> reporter: he says opponents of president obama are malpractice more excited about mid terms and, quote, change compared to supporters of the president. >> julie: there is another poll that shows republican outsiders may have an edge this fall. what is that all about? >> reporter: they found four types of generic candidates. a republican serving in congress a republican who has not served, a democrat serving in congress and democrat has not served for congress and asked whom they would vote. a plurality of people, 38% republican who has not served in congress. 24% said a democrat already serving in congress. republicans say that is not good news for the democratic majority in washington. take a listen. >> there is going to be the percentage of people who will support the incumbents. up until this year you are talking about 98% reelect built rate.

it's not surprising that some do well but the overall majority of americans want a republican and "b" want an outsider. >> he says that people want a quote, sea change this -- see change this fall. >> gregg: a delay this bp's efforts to bring up a key piece of evidence in the gulf oil spill to the surface. workers removed that failed blowout prevent frer the well head, but then they stopped lifting it about 500 feet below the surface. they are awaiting for an ice like substance to melt before hoisting on board ship, guess who is there. f.b.i. agents already on board to take possession. they will be sending it to the nasa laboratory to figure out why it failed to stop that massive oil leak. >> julie: a powerful earthquake devastating one of large e-cities in new zealand, the

quake hitting near a city causing hundreds of buildings to collapse there rupturing water lines, flooding the streets as you can see below. the state geological area reporting 30 aftershocks, some after a 5.4 magnitude. emergency responders no deaths. the prime minister is calling that a miracle. >> gregg: folks in the northeast are breathing a sigh of relief. hurricane earl long gone, doing less damage than feared but the storm causing major headaches for travelers. train service between new york and boston until early this morning. continental airlines cancelled about 60 different flights, southwest shut down service from virginia to boston and flights into new york laguardia facing delays. jennifer davis is live in cape cod, massachusetts where the

weather looks like picture perfect behind you. did earl make a dent? >> hi there, it doesn't get better than this. it's a spectacular day in cape cod, blue skies, a lovely wind about 80 degrees, it's fantastic. no it really no dent at all. it had a little effect here. take a look at the video. we passed by this wedding couple. you think a hurricane passing by isn't great for a wedding, it didn't affect them at all. they had a rehearsal outside in a tent and even though it rained it didn't cause any problems. it gives you a sense that people here just kept going about their business. >> gregg: good for jonathan and amanda. were businesses hurt by this and bouncing back? >> no question the biggest effect was to the businesses because there is really no damage to speak of except for

them. for example, if you take a look behind me, this is just a little bit down from chat up. typically they would be completely booked. this would be huge weekend but every one of their rooms was cancelled on friday. they are working back quickly as people see these pictures. they have filled up and we heard some say they saw a 80% drop in business on friday but they think they'll have a couple days to work back from that. >> they are out probably trying to get their last days at the beach today. >> beautiful. surf is a little rough but it's beautiful. >> reporter: folks here in new england are hardy souls. >> gregg: what is left of earl,

any idea? >> well, it did go on to nova scotia but no, sir not as much of a dud here. the gusts were about 60 miles an hour and it stayed in the 30-40 miles an hour. by the time it got there, they were having sustained winds up to 70 miles an hour. so more downed trees and affected them more than new england. >> gregg: jennifer davis, thanks very much. >> julie: president obama is reaching out to american workers this labor day weekend. he trying to reassure the country that the job market is turning around. this despite rising unemployment numbers. julie has the latest. >> calling this the worst recession of our lifetime, president obama says the middle-class has been squeezed the most. he promises to turn it around. he used his address to talk about his efforts to create jobs make college more affordable ux cut taxes and overhaul the

health care system but his comments follow more discouraging news from the labor department, that the economy shed 54,000 jobs in august and the unemployment rate kicked up to 9.6%. >> long before the recession hit the middle-class had been taken some hard shots. long before this recession the value of hard work had been given a short. >> reporter: as they tried to reassure americans that better days are ahead, many in the gop that obama's recovery summer has failed to materialize. it's time to do something new. >> the nation's unemployment rate has been above 9% for 16 consecutive months, despite fact that the obama administration promised that the trillion dollar stimulus would keep unemployment below 8%. the question is, where is the jobs. >> reporter: expect more talk about jobs.

he hits the road after camp david pushing his economic message. on wednesday he'll lay out a new set of ideas from cleveland but not a new big stimulus plan like last year. >> gregg: one of the democratic party's leading experts on health care doing an about-face. ron widen urging his state to opt out wowt key provisions of the law. with the mid terms looming do democrats fear more defections? joining us, is karen bohan and as i united states it. senator widen says we want to opt out of the mandatory provision. wasn't that the whole point of the law was to make it mandatory to cover more people? >> well, gregg, one thing to note that ron widen does support the individual mandate. he had his own version of the health care bill that included a

mandate. what he is saying he is not rejecting the obama health care law. he thinks oregon can do it better. his bill favored provisions that would spur competition and provide more consumer choice. >> gregg: all right. i want to be fair to the senator and i want to quote him. he sent a letter to the state health authority director in oregon. i would like to explore the possibility of oregon moving forward with a wa waiver because you and i believe that the heart of the matter is affordability. i wanted to bring this feature to your attention. affordability and not man dates? was that really the point? >> again, i think that he thinks that oregon can do better in providing an affordable plan that provides health care on par with what members of congress get. he rejects the idea that this is a wholesale rejection of obama's

policies. what he argues instead is that this exemption should be available to some states who can do better and can provide care in a better way. he says he is not siding with the states that have filed suit against the obama health care bill. he is saying that a lot of them wouldn't qualify for this exemption because they couldn't provide the quality health care that he says they should be providing. >> gregg: some people are saying wait a minute. this is implicit admission that the bill is flawed and that it's actually unworkable if the guy was a principal architect wants to opt out of the major position. he is reacting to the criticism and heat. here is what he posted. quote, for those that claim this represents a retreat from the health reform law they are mistaken. i continue to support the individual mandate unless the state can demonstrate they can

provide' equal or better health care without one. he goes on to argue, look, we knew all along this wasn't a perfect bill. so now we're going to try to improve it. my goodness, why would you spend an entire year craft ago bill that you almost immediately decide isn't good enough? >> that is a big worry for the obama administration. if you get more defections of this sort and get more democrats saying they have an issue with the bill. it would be a big can of worms for the obama administration if the bill was reopened because the risk is that a lot of provisions they feel go together and need to work together, if they were overturned, then you would have a bill that might not work economically for them. >> gregg: i mean in the grand scheme of things, won't me be branded as a gay, i'm going to vote in favor of this law, and now that it's passed, i'm going

to try to exempt my state from the law. it's explanation notwithstanding that is not much of an endorsement of a bill that he endorsed in an election year, is it? >> he did endorse it. when he supported it. he called it a start. so he did sort of cover himself in that way. he did say even then that he had some differences with the approach. however, he is running for re-election and you can't discount politics in this either. >> gregg: karen, thanks very much, good to see you. >> julie: investigation now underway following a security lapse at los angeles international airport. a guard apparently leaving his post unattended forcing authorities to close three terminals, fortunately surveillance video shows no one

entered the area. terminals terminals are now reopened and no word on exactly what happened to the guard. >> craigslist has apparently shut down the adult service section from the website. that was removed last night and replaced with the word, censored. that move comes after 17 state attorney generals command that had craigslist shut down the section. they say they failed to block out illegal ads from prostitution and child trafficking. defenders of the section shutting it down will force the ads to move to other sites. >> defenders of the sections, that is amazing. but still, pretty much legal prostitution on the internet. >> gregg: that is what the critics say. >> julie: new poll numbers, pretty big wake-up call for what voters are worried about who they are blaming. more details coming up. >> gregg: shoes and eggs go

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>> julie: quick look at headlines. death toll rising in the taliban attack on she'ite muslims in pakistan. a homicide bomber killing 65 people and wounding 150 more. an extremist group is claiming responsibility. >> gregg: federal investigators now saying that the fire that damaged equipment at a mosque construction site in tennessee was, indeed, arson. a $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest. >> julie: hurricane ser8 gone but not before causing some trouble in canada.

high winds and rain knocking out power and flooding streets in nova scotia. >> gregg: brand-new dynamic polls showing the economy is certainly slumping and that is dominant issue in the minds of most american voters. that is not the only concern weighing on americans heading into the midterm elections. laura ingle is live to break it all down. what are also voters talking about? >> the war in iraq, how well the president is doing and yes, a lot of concern about the economy. number one, when asked whether the obama administration has made the economy better or worse 47% feel the economy is worse because of the administration's effort while 36% say the economy is better. not surprisingly, 63% are more likely at 8% saying the obama administration made the economy better. independent voters were asked if

the stimulus plan worked. the majority 57% think the $8900 billion stimulus plan hasn't worked. over one in three, 37% think it has helped the economy. >> gregg: the end of august will mark the end of american combat operations in iraq. how are voters feeling today about that war and our involvement in iraq? >> interesting numbers, despite contentious history, most american voters have made a positive judgment about the efforts in iraq. six in ten, that is 58% of voters think overall the united states did the right thing by going to war according to the latest fox news poll. a little over one-third of voters, 35% take the opposite view that the u.s. did the wrong thing. from a partisan perspective, 54% of democrats think they did the wrong thing and 147 of republicans feel the same way.

a majority of independents think the u.s. did the right thing. >> gregg: how did the president fare in this latest poll? >> still more voters disapprove than approve. currently 46% of americans voters approve of the job that he is doing. last month it was 43-49%. and based on the president's performance, more voters think the country would be better off with someone else after the next election than obama deserves re-election. we have more at foxnews.com. >> thanks v. >> julie: anti-war protestors targeting tony blair as he arrived at a book sign go. demonstrators throwing eggs and

shoes. they are chanting blair has blood on his hands. hundreds of them lining up to have their books signed. in all about 1200 protestors showed up and police have arrested four people after scuffles broke out. >> gregg: the fight between the feds and arizona over that state's controversial immigration law getting a whole lot bigger. nearly a dozen states jumping in. how might this affect the fight. >> julie: help arrives to dig out the chile miners. new developments and what nasa is now advising them to do, next.

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>> julie: bottom of the hour, time for top of the news. bp saying it will be another few hours before crews can finally bring the failed blowout prevent teort surface. the device is considered a key piece of evidence in the investigation into the oil spill. >> gregg: tropical storm earl is pounding nova scotia with heavy rains and gusty winds. knocking out power to more than a 126,000 customers. >> julie: craigslist has shut down the adult services section in the website. it's been replaced by a logo that says censored. they. >> hundreds of national guard

troops are working along california's border with mexico. they are spurting border patrol and observing any reports of suspicious activities. the two weeks spent two weeks training before deploying to the border. we do understand some of them from returned from serving in iraq and afghanistan. >> julie: national guard troops arriving in arizona this week for the controversy over the state's immigration law showing no signs of letting up. nearly a dozen states so far have found a legal brief in support of arizona. a new poll in fact finds an overwhelming majority of voters favor immigration enforcement. can there be any resolution to this controversy? joining is ryan gonzalez an attorney and ira -- it seems

we'll never be done talking about illegal immigration. arizona takes the lead in trying to crack down on it. arizona's law, this is how it works but don't understand why it's so i controversial. it would require officers enforcing other measures pulling somebody over for speeding, to check the immigration status of people they suspect are illegal immigrants. so if this issue is so controversial why such overwhelming support of the law? >> that is just the point. it's not controversial. it's controversial only because if a few interest groups that support illegal immigration is making a big fuss about it. most americans independence that police are there to enforce laws. when they expect immigration laws being violated they have an obligation to act. when a cop pulls somebody over and they suspect they are doing something illegal, they are free to pursue that.

there is no reason why a police officer would pull somebody over reasonably suspect that they are violating immigration law, turn a blind eye and send them on their way. >> julie: some critics would call it racial profiling? >> it's not racial profiling. >> that is exactly what it is, julie. on your website, i'm mexican, that is racial profiling right there. what is a reasonable suspicion that you are an illegal immigrant, the way i look, waited i speak? that is intrusion on my rights. that a stupid political show. >> julie: what is the resolution then? it doesn't seem there is one at this point? >> comprehensive reform. there is no other way around it. states can't do their own immigration laws. the constitution specifically

says --. >> julie: how do you define comprehensive am immigration reform? >> we can't piece legislation to fix and that. we really need overhaul the whole system. there is immigration courts. we have limited amount of judges and the courts are overwhelmed. we have family members waiting for visas for years. half of the people are quote, unquote, can actually become legal while in the united states if a visa was available. all these are being ignored. >> julie: i want to know if this lawsuit will hold any ground. ira, a brief that was filed saying judge used the wrong standard to ruled on request for a preliminary injunction. can they win if they argue about

states' rights in this case? >> they can win because we believe the decision is on the wrong grounds and remains to be seen. it's going to the 9th circuit and u.s. supreme court but the fact that you have 12 states siding with arizona and probably more are going to join, it's an indication which way the political winds are blowing. when we talk about comprehensive immigration reform we're not talking about amnesty. what the american public wants is an immigration system that recognizes the american public is the primary constituency. the reason we have limits is that all our interests are at stake. it's people's jobs, children's education, billions of tax dollars that are at stake. that is why they want to see illegal immigration curtailed. they don't want amnesty. they want their interests

recognized and a system put in place and enforced. >> i agree there needs to be immaterial immigration reform. >> your idea is amnesty. what we're talking about. >> no, i don't believe in amnesty. not everybody can be here. i don't believe in that. >> julie: if you are an illegal immigrant living in this country, what do you have to do. >> my spouse, my children, my parents, the ones that are eligible to immediately, because the access of visa be made available for them. allow them to be able to become residents --. >> julie: if the visa expires the law writers rivers them to return to the country and reapply for the visa. if you overstay beyond your visa

you are here illegally. >> section 245 "a", it didn't matter if you overstay, you can adjust and you can become a citizen. >> there are a lot of ways of doing it legally. >> julie: but someone with an expired visa 23 you don't get out you can be deported? >> there is a problem once again i do understand. >> julie: what you are saying -- to be permanent, they should not expire? >> no, i'm not saying that. >> allow them to become a permanent resident and

overstaying a visa is no big crime, but overstay a visa. it's a civil violation and civil violators should not be treated like that. >> julie: okay. let's talk about it. a civil violation, your visa has expired. let's determine that. and you decide to fly back home and visit relatives and attempt to come back in the country you are not allowed. >> individuals with expired visas are allowed to remain in the united states legally. >> julie: but they can't come back. there is a law that prohibits them from coming back. >> the visa has nothing to do with the ability to remain in the united states. somebody comes in and once they come in -- they can still be in the u.s. legally for six months. it has nothing to do with it. >> look, spouses and children

can adjust their status. my wife went through this procedure. there is a legal way to do it. we're not talking about spouses and children here. we're talking about millions of people in the country illegally whether they came across the border illegally or overstayed their visags they have no legal right to be here. >> someone has the ability to remain in the united states. >> most of them do not. people are talking about comprehensive immigration. >> julie: i just want to say, what do you think should happen to illegal immigrant that came into this country illegally however they got this, then they got pregnant and had a baby in this country. that baby is considered an american. do you believe that that illegal then has the right to stay in the country because their child is technically considered

american citizen? >> no. >> so you are saying -- >> i'm going to tell you something else. people think that illegal immigrants come to the country, get pregnant and that is not true. they have relationships and this happenings. 21 years later, a u.s. citizen do you think people want to come to the united states to become pregnant? that is a joke. let me tell you that the law says if somebody does have a relationship with a u.s. citizen and that child has special needs or child is sick, lawsuit says the father has been the united states for over ten years and good moral character and no crimes they can stay here to take care. both individuals are included in that big group to be deported all the time. >> julie: ryan and ira, thank

you so much. obviously this is one of those issues we can talk about for hours but unfortunately we only have a few minutes here. thank you gentlemen. thank you very much. >> gregg: a west coast police department subing civilian cops. a private program to cut costs and improve service for the community but even within the ranks, some are questioning this approach, claudia has more from san francisco. >> with layoffs and fewer resources, oakland police will no longer send officers to investigate nonviolent crimes like burglaries and vandalism. across the bay, san francisco has another potential solution, 15 civilian cops are being hired to do regular work of other officers but without badges and guns and with a lower salary. >> this is not only about cost reductions but improvement in quality of investigations. >> they want to recipe reply li

indicate a program that was in arizona. they want them to handle burglaries and car theft, freeing up regular can cops to focus on serious crimes and offenders. it has helped cut response times and now 41 suspected criminals. but the head of san francisco's police union worries about evidence collected by civilian cops holding up in court. >> we have issues where they are collecting dna and dusting for prints, are they going to see the investigations through and turn them over to another investigator? are civilians going to be sticking around as others have made 30 years to stick around. >> they say they shouldn't work certain cases but with the right training they could save taxpayer's money. >> police academy is incredibly expensive. this is roughly half the cost.

in tough budget times it's worth looking at it. >> overall crime is down in san francisco, officers have had to respond more than 3,000 burglaries. the chief is hopeful that number will drop and other crimes will be resolved faster once civilian officers are on the case starting in january. >> julie: people all across france are protesting nicolas sarkozy decision to close gypsy tents. thousands are turning out in cities and towns all across the country. he says the camps are unsafe calling them a source of prostitution and child exploitation. protestors saying he is violating french tradition of welcoming the oppressed. in chile, family members of the trapped miners cheering the arrival of a brand-new piece equipment.

a heavy drill brought in to dig a tunnel to reach those miners. police escort leading the way if for convoy of honking trucks carrying the new drill. the space agency nasa is sending a team of doctors and engineers to chile to help develop plans for maintaining the health of those 33 trapped miners. they have been stuck under ground since august 5th. >> white house is about to launch a most ambitious plan yet to help homeowners drowning under their mortgages. how could this help you? we'll ask a financial expert. >> when you see it's hard to believe the person on board walked away, we're going to show you what really happened here. details on this coming up. boss: and now i'll turn it over to the gecko. gecko: ah, thank you, sir. as we all know, geico has been saving people money on rv, camper and trailer insurance... ...as well as motorcycle insurance... gecko: oh...sorry, technical difficulties. boss: uh...what about this? gecko: what's this one do?

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>> julie: obama administration is expected to launch a new program to help homeowners who owe more than their houses are worth. this is a huge problem in this

country. this comes as rates for memo loans are at the lowest levels in 50 years. how can people take advantage of this? with me is mickey and founding and managing partner of private client service. thank you for talking to us. i know personally people in arizona that were hit really hard by the housing market, they had to foreclose and no equity in their homes. it's happened to millions of us. half the 1.3 million borrowers have fallen out because they didn't qualify. how does it help and how can you take full advantage of this? >> it's just a new program. it uses about $14 billion of the tarp money, it doesn't require any new funding. targeted people who are current on the mortgage but upside-down, in other words, they owe more money on their house than the house is worth. under the program, if the lender agrees and the lender agrees to

take that hit and reduce the mortgage to where it's an amount that is less than the value of the home, then the lender can off-load that loan on to the taxpayers and get it off their default risk. >> julie: a lot of critics are calling this redistribution, essentially the government having it's a way with taxpayers' money, could this in the end bite us back? >> certainly. the estimates are still after modification of loans, once you go through the program you'll have a lower interest rate and the principal will be reduce the still the estimates one in five will default. that is going to fall on the taxpayer if that occurs. >> julie: if you qualify, let's say we own a home for $150,000 which is our mortgage but the home is valued at $70,000, what happens to your mortgage payment in that sort of scenario?

>> the lender would have to write the mortgage down to an amount that is less than the market value of the house. that would be the first benefit as a borrower, would you get the writeoff. that is going to lower your credit scores. if that happens, if you take this program, you'll be locked into that house because you won't be able to qualify for a new mortgage. so if you take advantage of this program you need to make sure first of all that your financing are such you can stay in the house and continue to make the mortgage payment and secondly, you want to stay in that area. one of the big problems we have is that american consumer and made them buy houses they can't afford. we do have a part of the population to migrate where jobs are. if you look at the areas where the highest home ownership they have the highest unemployment because they can't migrate to where jobs are because they can't get out from under their

homes. >> julie: the obama administration reducing mortgage values a lot of people on twitter are writing about it. somebody writes to me the obama administration is taking money from taxpayers to reduce mortgages for the irresponsible. they say it puts taxpayers at risk and another example of why the banks got us in this medication in the first place. why would the banks want to take a hit? >> it's not a favor. what they are doing they are actually paying an insurance premium, an amount they write down the loan to reduce the value to the home is an insurance payment so they can eliminate the default risk to the portfolio. left turn lenders do this? they are overwhelmed with refinancings and how quickly can they get to a program like this. it's one of the major questions i have about the program. >> julie: all right.

thank you very much for talking to us. >> gregg: a controversy taking a brand-new twist. some have called him a sore loseser but floyd landis may consider himself a whistleblower. what list his reported lawsuit could mean for this guy, lance armstrong. [ both screaming ] i got into one of the most expensive schools in the country! [ male announcer ] when stress gives you heartburn with headache. alka-seltz gives you relief fast. [ low male ] plop, plop. [ high male ] fizz, fizz.

>> julie: a pilot and homeowner very lucky to walk away from an incident in oregon. plane crashing into a right into the living room miles from the airport. police say the aircraft stalled as the 70-year-old pilot practiced takeoffs and landings. it slammed into the home just as the owner walked outside. the pilot escaping with only minor injuries.

faa is now investigating. >> cyclist floyd landis lost his tour de france title for doping and he has accused lance armstrong of doping, too, while riding for the team. landis is filing a federal whistleblower lawsuit. does he really qualify as a whistleblower? let's bring in former prosecutor joey jackson and mercedes cohen? disqualify as a whistleblower? >> probably so but the evidence is so flimsy. all he has to show is essentially that a crime occurred and. we know the u.s. postal service provided $30 million endorsement to armstrong and landis' team when they are were in the tour de france. he has lots of investigations fleogd around him.

the doping and never looking into some his own activity. you know what, lance -- armstrong is the individual, not me. >> gregg: aside from the fact that the u.s. government should not be in the business of sponsoring to the tune of $30 million of taxpayer money in a cyclist, i don't know how that happened. >> whole separate animal. >> gregg: but he qualifies, doesn't he? >> i think so. whenever there is a fraud, it's because the end of the road for lance armstrong, it gives an incentive to commit fraud against the government. we see it in the defense department and think i at the end of the day they are going to uncover what is going on.

>> gregg: floyd landis is a pro lich i can liar, a serial liar. he spent four years claiming he didn't juice and even wrote a book about it denying that he juiced and then all of a sudden, just kidding. he has no credibility. >> he doesn't, but what i find most surprising that the government is backing landis. landis is going to get 30% of that 30 amendment, that is $9 million purse if he is successful. come on. >> gregg: quoting you in filing the lawsuit, landis seeks vindication, not money. are you kidding? he gets 30%. >> that is absolutely right. what a smart viewer that is. at the end of the day and let me remind you, he is not the first one to arrive that armstrong has

been doping, look at his masseuse and personal assistant. he is not lying lying for a buck. vehicles of lying, you are going to get the justice department involved in a lie like this? you are going to file a lawsuit? what about going on the talking circuit and sell another book. >> if you are looking for a group of gullible people it has to be the department of justice. >> exactly. i want that $30 million back, the u.s. gets $30 million and landis, he is thinking about bankruptcy and doing all those sorts of things, $9 million. >> do you remember jose canseco. >> he was talking about steroids you are liar and credibility is shot. what did we learn later on? you know what we learned. you are absolutely right.

>> with respect to armstrong has had so many tests. we know tour de france is vigilant about juicing. the heat is on the tests, he has done all the blood tests. he is very compliant. he is not saying -- >> he is going down, you know it. here is my question. if landigs is lying, how come armstrong hasn't sued him defamation. >> that is a great question. >> you know why, because the defense for defamation is the truth! >> latin dis does not come forward, by the way, armstrong is the one is doping and jeis go. he hasn't done it publicly. when you file in it court and go to the u.s. government -- >> they are going to attack his credibility and like conseco,

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>> hello, everyone. i'm julie banderas. >> i'm greg jarrett. welcome back to a brand new hour of america's headquarters. topping the news this hour, it wasn't as bad as expected. >> what are you seeing? >> not much, actually. i thought it was going to be a bigger hurricane than this. it's not really a big hurricane. >> we usually see a good number of people, especially on a holiday weekend like this. and, you know, the hotel, it's definitely been hurt a little bit by the storm that wasn't. >> it's always a challenge, and it's always good to be prepared. >> but the tropical storm formally known as hurricane earl

wasn't that big. now heading north. when can we expect to see the next threat? >> all right. and she is the most powerful democrat in congress, but now some democrats are asking for a little distance. house speaker pelosi's role or lack thereof in the midterm elections. gregg gregg new information about the 70-year-old college professor at the airport shut down about. his arrest and why he spent time in jail. >> julie: the economy is sitting at the list of the top of americans and new round of fox news opinion dynamics poll just out looks at everything from how the government spends your money to the war in iraq. and laura ingle is live in our new york city newsroom with a wrap-up. the economy is on top of the mind for voters, apparently, according tour latest poll. what do voters say about the job our president is doing to manage the situation? >> hi, julie. well, you know, with the economic recovery seemingly stalled, only 32% of voters are confident the obama administration can handle the

economy. nearly twice as many, 61% are concerned about the administration's ability to deal with the situation. political independents, the key swing group in most elections are much more likely to be concerned. 64% than confident. that would be 24%. despite the perception that president obama has not done much to improve the economy, few feel john mccain would have faired better if he had been elected. just over half feel the economy would be the same today if mccain were president. that was 54% of the vote. >> julie: laura, with the president's speech about the end of the u.s. combat or operations in iraq, what are the american people saying about our involvement in iraq? >> despite its contentious history. most american voters and to have made a positive judgment about the country's efforts in iraq. almost six in 10, 58% of the voters think overall the united states did the right thing by going to war. let's take a look at some of these numbers. a little over 1/3 of voters, 35% take the opposite view that the

u.s. did the wrong thing by becoming involved militarily in iraq. and when the scope is widened to broader security concerns about six in 10 voters, 58%, agree the action made the united states and the world safer. again, more than one third, 37%, takes the opposing view. >> julie: and the president's job performance rating. how did he do this week? >> we just got two months to go before election day. our poll finds that more voters still disprove than approve of president obama's job performance. yet his approval rating suspect a couple of points from summer lows. currently 64% of person who voters approve of the job the president is doing and 48% disapprove. last month it was a 43% to 49%. his approval rating has been holding steady at 43% for the previous two months. and based on the president's performance so far, more voters think the country would be better off with someone else after the next election and think obama deserves

re-election. a lot of interesting numbers. we have got it all for you on our fox news web site. foxnews.com. go to the politics page. you will find more there, julie? >> laura ingle, thanks very much. >> julie. gregg gregg new new zealand is inspecting the damage the quake strikes the southern city of christ church it could top $1 billion in damage. the prime minister calling it a miracle that nobody was killed. >> julie: new blood shed near the u.s.-mexicoward. mexican military say soldiers killed 0 suspected drug gang members. five killed on friday during a shootout on a highway leading to the u.s. border. 25 others were killed on thursday during a raid on a building. the dead believed to belong apparently to a gang suspected of killing 72 my grants nearly two weeks ago. drug violence in mexico has claimed more than 28,000 lives since 2006. >> >> greg: in california hundreds

national guard troops working along this border with mexico report nothing major issues so far. the team serving has extra eyes and ears for federal agents already patrolling there. >> they're out here supporting u.s. customs and border patrol by observing and reporting any suspicious activity that they might see looking down to the south and through the corridors that are leading north and to the united states. u.s. customs and border protection are the ones who went through and decided the most strategic locations in san diego county for us to be placed so that we can be most effective for them in assisting with illegal crossings and contraband and human mug gling. gregg gregg many of them have just returned from operations in iraq and afghanistan. their mission, expected to end by next july. >> julie: well, firefighters in phoenix battling a two alarm fire at a strip mall, bright orange flames and heavy smoke could be seen pouring from the building. fire crews had no choice but to let it burn.

because it was apparently too dangerous for them to internet building. the fire gutting an auto business before it was over. no word yet on what sparked it. >> greg: well, a quick trip up the east coast is not going to steam out of earl. earl is now a tropical storm over canada, rain and winds knocking out power in parts of nova scotia, flooding the streets there, ground ago few flights. the storms brushed with the east coast and u.s. weren't that bad. jennifer davis is in orioles, massachusetts. and, jennifer, tell us about what it's been like there as you have been covering this thing. >> hi there, greg. well, you know, we just talked to a boater who came. in i have to tell you i think he put it well. he said it's actually windier out there today than it was last night. in fact, the winds here in both nantucket, they are about 30 miles per hour here. topped out at 48 with gusts of 60. it really was not so bad. the biggest hit was to the businesses. when we are going to pan off

here, you will see one of the businesses here. or liens inn. known to be a haunted inn. typically 100% full. the owner we just talked to ed moss says maybe 60% right now though they are hoping to come back strong. they are still getting calls and pretty full for dinner in the restraint which sits right on the water. there is no questions that businesses in this area took a hit. people here are hardy though. take a look at this video. another couple of people, this lovely couple jonathan and amanda, this is their wedding weekend. they were completely unfazed. they actually had their rehearsal dinner last night under a tent. they said nobody even minded or barely even noticed what was going on. and today they hopped on a boat and headed over to their reception site. it's a lovely weekend for a wedding. it's a beautiful labor day weekend. and folks who are out today really enjoying things and said, you know, they barely noticed earl. >> greg: it's a beautiful back drop there. jennifer davis, thanks very much.

>> julie: well, election day cinching closer, the more desperate some candidates can become. no surprise we are hearing reports of democrats, keeping their distance from their highest ranking party member in the house of representatives. nancy pelosi, of course. according to this latest fox news opinion dynamics poll, a majority of voters have a negative opinion of the house speaker. 56% unfavorable while 24% favorable. and even some of pelosi's spokes people say they understand the cold shoulder but they add candidates should proceed with caution. joining us now with ron, former communications director to former house speaker dennis has ter and former advisor to trent lott, both republicans. and richard sock creates and former special assistant to president clinton. gentlemen, thank you very much for coming on. richard, i want to start with you because with democrats distancing themselves from nancy pelosi, obviously this is a very

bold move. it might even make them seem as if they're alienating themselves from their own party. couldn't that hurt them? >> well, i actually don't think it's that bold a move. i think what you see customarily is when incouple bins -- incumbency or incumbents is unpopular -- her numbers reflect that most people think the country is headed in the wrong direction. we are in very difficult, economic times. per her own personal numbers, nancy pelosi's are actually slightly better than congress' overall. i don't think this is unusual though. i think that, you know, history will record that she has been a very effective speaker. she is very popular with the rank and file. i think this is, you know, standard campaign practice. >> julie: okay, ron, you know, much like the g.o.p. presidential candidates in 2007, they called themselves the change candidate. and that would be why they wanted to distance themselves from george w. bush. how do you campaign as the change candidate, let's say, if

you are an incumbent? the big difference, obviously, is that they were campaigning for a seat that they didn't already have. >> this is an unusual situation. speaker pelosi is well known in the united states. i mean, go back to the 1980s, nobody knew who tipp o'neal was. and the house democratic majority right now is like the titanic. you know, it's going down. and most pollsters recognize that and so house democrats are trying to distance themselves as much as possible. and it really doesn't matter what they necessarily say about the captain, the fact is the ship is sinking and i don't think that's necessarily going to save them. although in some races where some democrats are voted against health care reform, and voted against spending this could be a tipping point. >> julie: ron, the republicans have worked to define pelosi as what's wrong with democrats. even the house speaker's own spokesperson as we just read earlier they concede they understand why candidates would want to disassociate themselves with what is seen as wrong in washington.

but you don't want to indict other party. how do you get votes, i suppose, how do you campaign in a way where you are not necessarily alienating the speaker, considering the speaker is not going anywhere any time soon and then after the elections, what happens? >> well, you know, i will tell you, i don't think it really matters if they try to alienate the speaker or not, if i were them, i would do everything they can to distance themselves from washington. right now, you are talking about the outside candidates vs. the inside candidates and, you know, republicans vs. democrats. >> that is excellent advice from a man who knows what he is talking about. >> and if i were a democrat, i would be trying to campaign on everything that's what's wrong with washington. the problem is they promised change in 2008 and they didn't bring it. it's going to be very difficult for them to accomplish that. >> he knows exactly -- >> speaker pelosi is the albatross around a lot of these democrats. >> julie: richard, go ahead. >> i say ron knows what he is talking about having been there

and worked for the speaker of the house. anything associated with government in washington right now is unpopular. highly unpopular. that's because people are unhappy with the way the government has been working or not working. it's because we have been having a hard time getting out of the worst economic disaster that we have had since the great depression. it's going to take time. the numbers are headed in the right direction. the democrats are going to have a positive message. i think it's going to be a very close election. i don't think the democrats are going to lose control of the house, but it is going to be close. and nancy pelosi, you know, stands for a lot of what's been happening. but she will linebacker regarded as a very effective speaker when compared to others in history. and we'll just have to see what the election holds. >> julie: ron, i want to know what you think of democrats. how far they should go when it comes to distancing themselves from pelosi. congressman bobby bright who happens to occupy heavily montgomery area scene, i know what you are about to talk about here with alabama last week about whether he planned to vote for pelosi as speaker. and he went so far as to, and

i'm quoting here that she might even get sick and die. that is going really far. and not be able to seek her post again. i mean, what kind of message does that send? >> i will tell you, i do think that crosses the line. when you are talking about policy issues and distancing yourself from the speaker on those terms, it makes a lot of sense because speaker pelosi, you know, she was an effective speaker, but effective in the wrong way, she took the country in the wrong direction. >> that's exactly the point. that's what he is saying. >> and democrats, you know, if they get personal, by joking about her death or demise, i mean it, really just shows how desperate they are. it does cross the line. i think it boomerangs on them. i don't think it will have a positive effect or help them in the election. >> julie: we appreciate you coming on. thank you very much for talking to us. >> thanks, julie. >> julie: wow, pelosi alienating herself from the entire democratic party. thank you so much. it's interesting. >> a second drill arriving on the scene of the mine collapse in chile. here a convoy of trucks carrying the new drill and equipment.

that machine will try to dig a brand new tunnel to try to reach those 33 trapped miners. in the meantime, the space agency, nasa, is sending a team of doctors and engineers to the site to help. >> this is an unprecedented effort. to my knowledge, there has never been this situation before where we have had this many men trapped this deeply below the surface of the earth. >> greg: those miners have been stuck half a mile under ground since august 5th. word it could take three months to get them out. afghan president harmid karzai is expanding olive branch to the taliban. he is forming a committee to seek peace talks with the terror group. that move follows endorsement by key tribal leaders back in june. the taliban indicates they are not willing to hold talks until all foreign troops leave the country. still mr. karzai's office insists he intends to move ahead

with the high peace council, that's what he calls it and further details will be announced at the end of ramadan next week. >> julie: well, president obama using weekly radio and internet address to speak to the middle class this labor day weekend. taking credit for an economy he says would have been much worse it had not been for the policies of his government. meanwhile, republicans blasting the president, saying his promises of a so-called recovery summer have come up short. julie cirtsd has more from washington. >> julie, calling this the worst recession of our lifetime president obama says the middle class has been squeezed the most and he promises to work hard to turn that around. he spends the weekend at camp david but obama used his labor day weekend address to talk about his efforts to create jobs, make college more affordable, cut taxes, and overhaul the healthcare system. but his comments follow more discouraging news from the labor department that the economy shed 54,000 jobs in august and the unemployment rate kicked up to

9.6% long before this recession hit the middle class had been taking hard shots. long before this recession, the values of hard work and responsibility that built this country had been given short shah rift. >> as the president and tries to better days are ahead. many in the g.o.p. say obama's recovery summer has failed to materialize and it's hard to get something new. >> greg: the. >> the nation's unemployment rate has been above 16%. this is despite the fact that the obama administration promised that the trillion-dollar stimulus would keep unemployment for 6%. the question remains where are the jobs? >> expect more talk about jobs and the middle class from the president after a weekend at camp david. he hits the road pushing economic message. on wednesday he will lay out a new set of ideas from a speech from cleveland but not a big new stimulus plan like last year.

>> julie: julie kirtz from washington. thanks, julie. >> greg: one of the president's allies in the war about iraq why he still thinks the decision to topple saddam hussein was the correct one. dollars

it's a success! let's roll! [ brian ] come on boys, who's next?

>> julie: quick look at today's headlines, new zealand prime minister is examining the damage done to his country 7.1 quake striking yesterday. initial damage reports could top $1 billion. investigators in tennessee now

saying a fire at the site of a planned islamic center and mosque was arson. detectives say accelerants were used. now a 20,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. hurricane earl slipping by new england, leaving very minimal damage behind. this after days of worry and intense preparation. a city spokesman saying earl wasn't even a really bad rainstorm. >> eric: as we are now reducing our presence in iraq, the united states is reaching out to a key ally in the region, turkey. president obama's top military advisor, admiral mike mullen asking for turk's help in policing iran's nuclear program. the united states meanwhile agreeing not to transport any weapons or vehicles it's withdrawing from iraq through turkey so how does all of this play out on the global stage? joining me now to talk about it international security expert with m.i.t. security studies program jim walsh. good to see you. turkey has one of the world's

largest standing armies. only muslim member of nato and shares a border with both iran and iraq. how important is turkey in middle eastern affairs? >> it is very important. for all the reasons you listed, greg, and others. it's got a big military. it's strategically located at the bridge between europe and middle east. it's historically played this role even during the time of the soviet competition and it borders iraq and it borders afghanistan. has troops helping our troops in afghanistan. so it's among the most important allies the united states has in that region. >> greg: well, as you know, turkey opposed the united states united nations -- opposed the united nations sanctions against iran. will they abide by them and actively enforce them. after all, turkey and brazil struck that deal with iran in may under which turkey would receive unprocessed uranium ran from iran and send back smaller amounts of enriched uranium. so what's going on here? >> yeah, you're right, greg.

now, turkey and iran have often been rivals. you know, they are both big, important powerful states in the region. and, of course, turkey is concerned about iran's nuclear program. but it also doesn't want to have a shooting war near it. its economy has been -- has performed really really well these last several years. it's feeling like it's a rising power in the region. it wants to use more of that powerful on the international scene. but it doesn't want to see a shooting war on its back door. so, it wants to pursue diplomacy as a possibility. and the brazilians and the turks tried to pull off a deal. the problem was they didn't do this until -- and this was iran's fault. they didn't do this in the eve of the sanctions vote after the u.s. had spent six months putting that vote together. there is no way the u.s. is going to turn around and give up after having put all of that effort into it but watch turkey. turk canny could be an important player going forward. >> greg: they are super important. would turkey though agree to allowing installations for a miss defense system of radar and

interceptors. >> that's a great question. i think part of it will depend on what the turkish military thinks and they have had an important voice in military affairs. it cuts both ways. on the one hand to have foreign missiles on your territory might be something that draws protest or attention from people who don't like u.s. policies. on the other hand, most countries like having missile defenses. that is they like the idea that the u.s. is more tightly bound. they like having new technology. i think you will see voices in both camps. and, again, given its location, i wouldn't be surprised if we did see something. >> greg: turkey is a friend, it's an ally. it's also independent. but that is useful, isn't it? >> >> i agree. i couldn't agree more. there is a tendency, i understand it, it's us against them and we want everyone on our side. sometimes when you are involved in something, it's good to have a friend who can be a little independent and, therefore, be the go-between, be the catalyst

that puts relations on a new direction. sometimes sweeden does that for example. in this case turkey, it's not arab, it's not arab i can. it's not persian or iranian, it's turkish, they are turks. they can play independent, more autonomous role and have conversations and relationships that other countries in the region can't have. and in diplomacy, that's a useful thing. >> greg: indeed, it gives us credibility with our adversaries and that is key. jim walsh as always. thanks so much, jim. >> thank you, greg. >> julie: hundreds of antiwar protesters lashing out at tony blair. the former british prime minister london to chanting war criminal. got pretty vicious there for a second. angry demonstrators throwing eggs and shoes at blare. he was in dublin for the first public signing of his memoir. in the book, he discusses britain's role in the iraq war and former iraqi president saddam hussein. >> would you take the risk of

allowing him to do that? we know what he did before. he developed them, and he used them. now, you may say that we could have used sanctions and contain them. fine, you can take that view. >> yes. >> i took the view then and i take it now that when w. this man and the hundreds of thousands of people who died under him, it wasn't worth leaving that risk in place. i say this to you because we are about to see the same issue in respect to iran. the real issue is do you take the risk of a man like that who has been responsible for what he has been responsible for having the possibility of weapons as we saw that day, these people will not kill 3,000, they could kill 30, they could kill 300,000. that's not a risk i would run. >> julie: tony blair left office in 2007 with an approval rating just over 37%. >> greg: miami airport came to grinding halt when a suspicious canister was found in a college professor's luggage. why this 70-year-old professor was returning from saudi arabia

and his previous bust for bringing vials of a deadly virus into the united states.

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>> greg: bottom of the hour, time for top of the news. tropical storm earl making landfall in nova scotia this afternoon. flooding the streets there and new yorking out power african selling flights in eastern canada. >> deadly violence in afghanistan. officials in northern hundred do province killed 7 people including four police officers and wounded 11 more. >> greg: bp crews working to slowly raise the blow out preventer facing delay, taking care not to damage or drop a key piece of evidence in that spill investigation. well, democrats are under increasing pressure with midterm elections just two months away. especially with some new polls out. showing voters aren't too happy with the party. so could this mean a major shift in balance of power? on capitol hill, molly henneberg is live in washington with a closer look at the latest polls. hi, molly. >> hi, julie it may be a good year to be republican challenger. that's what recent poll is suggesting. gallup asked respondents if you had to choose between a

republican serving in congress, a republican who has not served in congress, a democrat serving in congress and a democrat who has not served in congress for whom would you vote a plurality of people picked a republic who has not served in congress 38%. a democrat in congress 24%. one democratic strategist says that may not bode well for incumbents of either party. >> there is so much disdain for both parties, democrats and republicans in congress, that it's hard to say that the antipathy that exists is purely against the democratic party. it's against obama to be sure. but the republicans are not really thatch popular in washington than the democrats. >> in a separate poll, gallup looked at how enthusiastic black and white voters are going into the midterms, compared to two years ago going into the presidential election. in 2008, gallup says both groups were giving the race for the white house, quote, quite a lot or some thought.

but that drops dramatically this year, 42% of whites, and 25% of blacks are thinking quite a lot or some. about the midterms. here is how one republican strategist explains it. >> turn-out is generally lower in the midterm election. it is generally lower among the african-american population in the general election. but at the same time, i think what you are really seeing is that the republicans are fired up. they want to see a change. they believe they have this moment to prove that common sense conservative principles can help us out of this very steep economic downturn. >> political analysts larry sabato is predicting that the g.o.p. will win control of the house this fall and come within the couple of seats of winning the senate. julie? >> molly henneberg thank you very much. greg? >> a plane crash in southern mexico killing all six people on board including several politicians. officials say that aircraft went down as it neared the airport. among the dead two federal lawmakers, two mayor's elect. investigators are looking into

the cause of that crash but they say weather could be possible pilot error or weather, both are being investigated. >> and another plane crash to tell you about. this one in redwood city, california, where authorities say that a small plane went down, killing three people on board. the twin engine aircraft plummeted into a lagoon off san francisco bay. authorities now looking into the cause, but they say the flaps and other flight controls on that plane were in the right position. >> greg: we're learning more about the suspect at the center of a bioterrorism scare at miami international airport. police say they arrested tom mast mass butler a 70-year-old college professor, there is his picture, after airport security discovered a suspicious metal canister in his luggage. and it turns out he has done it before. rush low from our fox affiliate wsvn has the story from miami international airport. >> mr. butler, thomas butler, mr. butler, mr. butler, do you want to say anything?

>> here he is, the man at the center of miami international airport's evacuation thursday night and we're there to greet him. 70-year-old scientist thomas but the is in no mood to talk. he is released by the fbi after hours of questioning. this after investigators found a metal canister in his luggage. here's the video of the scene at m.i.a. thursday night. most of the airport is shut down. inconvenience for passengers and a scare for investigators. here are snapshots of the bomb squad at the airport. one after the other telling this story, four of six concourses cleared out. >> t.s.a. did an outstanding job of finding, again, you what was deemed suspicious. >> according to published reports, butler told investigators the canister was used for medical testing and, in fact, when tested, the results were negative for anything dangerous and butler was free to go. but who is this man? let's bring you back to 2003.

>> butler was arrested and charged with transporting the bacteria that causes the bubonic plague. 30 vials of the deadly bacteria went missing from texas tech university where butler worked. he spent time behind bars on fraud charges related to the plague and was later acquitted of illegally exporting the plague vials. he is currently on a teaching assignment in saudi arabia. with butler's background, authorities taking no chances. according to published reports, investigators determined the metal canister was a legitimate part of an experiment used to transport dead bacteria samples. >> mr. butler, thomas. >> so, without a word, the scientist is on his way a free man. >> our fox affiliate wsvnrosh low reporting. >> popular web site craigslist apparently blocking adult services section. the section now replace with the word censored. two weeks after 17 attorneys

general demanded craigslist shut down the section it fails to block illegal ads for prostitution and child trafficking. >> sarah palin can now take down that 8-foot high fence surrounding her home. her unwanted neighbor is packing it in after three months. author joe mcginnis who is heading back to massachusetts to write the book that he has been researching on the former governor his arrival made headlines and drew reaction from pay lib and her husband. mcginnis says he kind of got off on the wrong foot with palin when he wrote a 2008 magazine story that minimized her role in securing a natural gas pipeline project for alaska. >> julie: a lot of us are starting to look at our personal finances the same way that we are looking at the u.s. economy. there is before the recession and after. naturally, a lot of red flags have been raised about how to go forward. so, what should would he be doing now? cassandra is the founder and ceo of bell rock capital.

she also happened to write this book. i have got it here and there is a kyron of it. it's called don't buy the bull book. it's the disastrous spelling myths in our economy. i like the title. there are a lot of myths that you are going to dispel for us here. i want to start with the first here that all debt is bad. myth? >> that's definitely a myth. there has been a lot of wealth created over the centuries using debt. not the least of which is to go buy some real estate or a house. and i think just because we have had issues in real estate and in the economy, and its more difficult to get a loan, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be doing it if it's the right thing for you and your long-term financial health. >> julie: as long as you can afford it? >> as long as you can afford it of course, there is other good debt too. using it to get an education. using it to finance a business. those are good forms of debt. >> julie: another myth that you are dispelling mutual funds always make more sense than individual stocks? >> this is something that a lot

of personal finance gurus should advocate that we should all go out and use mutual funds. i don't think it's the right thing to tell people there are lots of fees involved. they are not very transparent. you can put together your own basket of either stocks or use some exchange trader funds and get the same result and do so on n. a transparent way where every day you can see what you own and you are more involved for yourself in your financial situation. >> julie: right. considering your financial situation, urine gauged, you are about to get married. we are in an economy not so hot, never marry someone who prenup. you say that's a myth. >> people throughout that would disagree with this. but we all work hard to get ahead in life. and you never know how circumstances may change in your future once you are married to somebody. and so it's very important to protect yourself and what you enter a marriage with. so, i highly encourage people to have a prenup.

it's not an easy discussion to have, but it's better to have it when you are in love than down the road when maybe things are a little ugly. >> julie: all right. what about never lease a car? >> never lease a car. well, we are always taught that's a bad thing to do. but for some people, especially for small business owners or entrepreneurs out there that have series of businesses they may be involved with, it's a better tax play to actually lease a car from a write-off perspective than to actually buy the car. you are going to get a better tax treatment for yourself. so you have to look at what's best for your life and not -- nothing is one size fits all anymore in this new financial world we're living in. and i think people need to realize that. >> julie: okay. now this next one i find very interesting because i myself got stuck n adjustable rate mortgage that i locked into many years ago and then the rates went up and my mortgage practically doubled. now interest rates are so low that you actually lock in at a great rate, but you are saying

never borrow using adjustable rate loan is a myth. >> you really have to look at, again, what your life about? if you are somebody that may get bonuses from one year to the next, it may be better for you to use a loan product where you can pay down a loan faster. maybe that means adjustable rate loan. maybe that means it's an interest-only loan that allows you to put one lump sum down and it adjusts your money payment once you have done that. so your cash flow from one month to the next might get better for yourself. again, it really depends on what your life is all about. that's what i tell my clients is, you know, i can't sit here and tell you that this is not a good loan for you because your life is different than somebody else's. >> julie: last one. we have got to make it quick. buy low and hold for decades. >> yes. this is something people really need to be careful of. you can't buy and hold any stock

for decades anymore. not a good idea. if you make some money in the stock, take some money off the table. we are in a very volatile market and it's going to stay that way for a while. just don't do that. >> thank you very much for talking to us. >> thanks for having me. >> greg: good advice. >> i thought so. good old adjustable rate mortgage scam. >> i know, i did. >> greg: you fell for it? >> at the time it was so low. i was a new buyer. i was naive and boy did it hit me a couple days later greg greg naive, can we bronze that commented over here. >> there was a time when i wasn't as -- >> greg: let's bronze that one too. >> one of the most unexpected bites in a college kid's budget textbooks. how some schools now are helping students get their books for half the price. robin ] my name is robin.

and i was a pack-a-day smoker for 25 years. i do remember sitting down with my boys, and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." and brian looked at me at eight years old and said, "promise me you'll quit." i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill. that stays with you all day to help you quit. in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit

during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment, coared to 18% on sugar pill. it's proven to reduce the urge to smoke. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. and find out how you can save money on your prescription at chantix.com. some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice agitation, hostility, depression or changes in behavior, thinking or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. talk to your doctor aboutny history of depression or other mental health problems, which can get worse while taking chantix. some people can have allergic or serious skin reactions to chantix, some of which can be life threatening. if you notice swelling of face, mouth, throat or a rash stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away. do not take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to chantix. tell your doctor which medicines you're taking as they may work differently when you quit smoking. chantix dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. the most common side effect is nausea. patients also reported trouble sleeping

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managed to get her dogs and herself out unharmed. the pilot had only minor injuries. can you believe it? wow. >> greg: remember what it was like in college being broke all the time? >> julie: yes. >> gregg: julie? >> julie: yes. >> greg: the last thing a student wants to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on is textbooks. now there could be a way to cut that cost in half. michelle with our fox affiliate in philadelphia explains. >> >> lesson one, rent your textbooks this is a trend

catching on that's what they're doing for the first time here at temple this fall. >> everyone is looking for a way to reduce the expense to minimize the costs and rentals was one of the logical steps. the health care delivery in the united states, regular price of it of a new book is $75. the student would pay $33.57 to rent this book. another example would be here with the employment law for business, 187.65 is the regular price. the student would rent it for $84.45. >> the savings on this one sun believable. >> that book was regularly is 135.35 for a new text, and the rental price is 60.90. aside from tuition and housing, if they are living on campus the next large expense is book material. >> get your textbook list and go online. if you are a broke college kid, these sites are a must. at e campus, book renter and

chegg.com. have them delivered to your dorm. when you sent them back at the end of the semester, shipping is free. shop for textbooks like you shop for anything else, that means not paying full price. never order anything online without first checking to see if there is a coupon code. in this case, check out web sites like promo codes.com and coupon winner.com. then search textbooks. i easily found $5 off ebooks. 5% off at khegg and 10% off book expensive. almost $100 for used books.

>> greg: i used to get all of my books used unless they come out with a new edition and then you couldn't too it. then i would sell them again and make a little bit of money. remember that? back in the day, turn of the century. >> like 10 years ago for me. >> greg: all right. an american citizen arrested, detained, strip searched and held for weeks. what crime was he suspected of committing absolutely none? why the government nabbed him anyway? >> julie: why he is now suing former attorney general john ashcroft. and how his case made it to the supreme court. [ female announcer ] there's a new way to let go of some of the annoying symptoms menopause brings. introducing one a day menopause formula. the only complete multivitamin with soy isoflavones to help address hot flashes and mild mood changes.

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had. >> greg: a flight turns into horrific nightmare for a man and his family. abdelah akid an american citizen was arrested and interrogated at dulles international airport after confined for more than two weeks he was released but placed under house arrest. he detained he was detained for not committing a crime but because the then u.s. attorney general, john ashcroft, needed him as a material witness in a case against another person. now, after losing his job, he lost his wife akid is planning to sue. and the ninth circuit of appeals says his case can go forward. the white house is stepping in and asking the supreme court to overturn that ruling. joining us now is todd harrison, a former federal prosecutor. todd, good to see you. let's assume for the sake of argument that akid's lawsuit has merit that he was abused in some way. aren't isn't the attorney general immune from lawsuits as long as their decisions occur in

ordinary and discretionary decision-making, even bad decision-making? >> that's correct. only those that decision-making is part of the prosecutorial function and related to the part of the judicial process. usually something that the prosecutor is doing in court in relation to a trial or some other judicial proceeding. >> greg: so my question here is, if john ashcroft, deliberately set in motion a policy of misusing, deliberately misusing the material witness statute, there is no immunity? >> well, if, in fact, he did that, but he did it as part of a -- a court finds he did it as part of a pros could prosecutorl function. he couldn't be sued in that case. >> greg: so how does akid win. >> he has got to establish first of all that ashcroft doesn't have absolute immiewnt. that is that ashcroft was not acting essentially as a prosecutor but more in an

investigative function or in a national security function rather than as a prosecutor. >> greg: right. or engaging in kind of politics, right? >> to a certain extent, yes. this can be an interesting decision by the supreme court because the national -- the supreme court has previously said that national security decisions by the attorney general do not get absolute immunity. that was prior to 9/11 and the judicial -- the prosecutorial functions, the national security functions of the attorney general have become much more measured after 9/11. >> greg: isn't it much more interesting that president obama and the current attorney general, who were very quick to villain nice john ashcroft, are now siding with him in a case before the u.s. supreme court? >> well, frankly, i think the obama administration is doing the right thing here. they recognize that, you know, ashcroft, obama that administration tomorrow. there is a certain policy that underlies the absolute immunity for prosecutorial functions. you can't have prosecutors looking over their shoulder all

the time. >> greg: maybe the real victim is not john ashcroft the material witness law. put it up on the screen. it is shown >> greg: see, that word reasonable is vague, it's ambiguous, it's fungible, and people have over the years been detained for weeks and, indeed, months, almost indefinitely, haven't they? >> that's right. and the material witness statute has been around for a long time. we have been -- the government has been detaining people as material witnesses since well -- back in the 1800s. >> greg: and the guy by the name of abe lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus so people were held for years. >> that's right. so it's a very interesting thing that's happening now. and, in fact, but what i get back to when you look at the

statute is it's not john ashcroft or the department of general running amuck on their own. as the words from the statute that you read, you have got to go to a federal judge to get approval for a material witness warrant. it's not just like the department of justice issues them themselves. have you got checks and balances. you have got the judicial branch having to approve any material witness warrants that come across. it's going to be hard for akid to make out that there is conspiracy by the department of justice when you have federal judges signing off on material witness forms. >> greg: we'll see. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >> greg: rick folbaum and juliet huddy waiting in the rings on tropical storm earl. >> they will tell you "consumer reports" latest reviews of smart phones. pretty cool. i hope to see you one hour on "the fox report." >> 7:00. have a great weekend. delicious news for dessert lovers. introducing new activia dessert. rich yogurt with desserty flavors

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